Descending Darkness(32)
Tom calls Colton into the kitchen. When he walks over, I lean against Liam’s shoulder and close my eyes. I didn’t think I was that tired until I feel myself falling again. Sleep has pulled me under again, and I don’t have the energy to fight it.
“Hey, it just shows they trust me. I don’t see any of the girls crawling to you, Larkin,” I hear Liam say.
“That’s because they’re intimidated by my masculinity.”
“Umm, I’m sorry, but I’m more masculine than you, and they still talk to me,” Bragden says.
“No, Ryanne pranks you. There’s a difference,” Larkin replies.
“Not really,” Bragden mumbles.
“Shut up guys, you’re too loud,” Emma grumbles. Emma is definitely not a morning person. Hearing that she is awake helps wake me up as well. I move a little and push myself into a seated position before opening my eyes. Rubbing my eyes with the sweatshirt sleeves, I look back at Liam and apologize. I didn’t mean to fall asleep on his shoulder.
“Don’t worry about it,” he says while giving Larkin a look. “You weren’t the only one to fall asleep on me.” Larkin rolls his eyes. Natalie is still asleep with her head on Liam’s lap and her feet in Logan’s. No one has really moved from where they were earlier.
“What time is it?” I ask.
“It’s ten,” Tom calls out from the kitchen. Thanking him, I push myself off the couch and go upstairs. I need a shower. Entering the bedroom, I see Colton pulling a shirt over his head. I can’t draw my eyes from his bare chest as he slowly pulls the shirt down. I knew he was fit, but actually seeing him is different. Wow. If my mouth were open, there would be a puddle of drool on the floor. He laughs as I continue to stare. Hearing his laugh, I pull my eyes from his now clothed chest and look down at the carpet, blushing.
Seriously? It’s like he’s photoshopped. I giggle at my own movie reference: Crazy, Stupid, Love. “Sorry, I should have knocked.”
He walks across the room and stops in front of me. I tear my eyes away from the ground and look up at him. Placing his hands lightly on my hips, he leans down, and I think he is going to kiss me, but he leans slightly to the right instead. “I like it when you wear my clothes,” he whispers in my ear. He lightly kisses the sensitive spot behind my ear and steps away from me, leaving the room. My knees feel weak as I exhale loudly and stare at the door for a couple seconds. Yep, definitely going to drive me crazy.
After getting dressed in my jean shorts and green Kermit the frog shirt, I throw Colton’s sweatshirt back on. It covers my shorts again, but I don’t care. It is warm, smells like him, and is super comfortable. Everyone knows I’m not one for fashion anyway. I exit the room and head downstairs. I can hear Emma and Natalie in their room, probably getting ready, so I knock on their door. Emma answers and pulls me inside.
“Help me with this. Don’t you think Liam and Natalie would look cute together?” she asks me. Natalie is sitting on the bed, shaking her head.
Even without reading anyone’s mind, I know that Liam and Natalie have something going on. Neither one of them will admit it though. Natalie watches Liam when he’s not looking, and he does the same to her. “I think they would actually. He’s got the whole dark vibe, while she’s all light and chipper all the time,” I say smiling at Natalie.
She laughs and jumps off the bed, exiting the room. “You know leaving the room doesn’t make the conversation disappear,” Emma yells after her.
“It doesn’t. Trust me,” I tell Natalie as we catch up to her in the hallway.
“At least think about it. Ryanne could tell you if he thinks anything about you,” Emma suggests. I can do that, but I don’t want to read anyone’s mind, especially not Liam’s. Liam’s my protector. I don’t want to invade his privacy like that. It doesn’t feel right unless I absolutely have to. Natalie should be able to get a read on his emotions.
“Please don’t do that,” she says urgently as we walk through the living room and into the kitchen.
“Do what?” Larkin says behind us. All of us scream and whip around. The guys in the kitchen laugh at our reactions.
“Three for one. Score one for Larkin,” he says giving me his arrogant smile. I shake my head at him but decide that I don’t want to retaliate right now. That’d be too expected. Emma walks over to him and hits him on the chest. “Ouch,” he says, but I can tell that that did not hurt.
Natalie walks around the table and sits down between Liam and Conner. Emma laughs as she takes her seat beside David, which elicits a glare from Natalie. “I told you that the conversation doesn’t stop just because you leave the room. She’ll do that all day,” I warn Natalie without giving away any information to the guys.